agents to switch sell following BA payments cut

TRAVEL agents across the UK have sent out a defiant ‘we won’t bother to sell you’ message to British Airways following the carrier’s decision to slash short-haul booking payments from June 1.

The move – part of plans by the airline to trim £100 million from distribution costs – means agents netting a £6 booking payment for non full-fare domestic and European tickets will now get £2.50, while those booking full-fare domestic and European flights will get £5 – 55% less than the current £11.

Angry retailers slammed the plans as financially unworkable and ‘a joke’, while a nationwide straw poll by Travel Weekly found those agents able to switch-sell away from the carrier are preparing to do so. Northampton-based Rainbow Flights owner Don Rainbow summed up the trade’s reaction. “We won’t be able to afford to sell BA,” he said.

BA UK and Ireland head of sales Tiffany Hall said the change to European and domestic sector remuneration reflects what retailers bring to the booking process. “Agents do add value for complex, long-haul bookings,” she told Travel Weekly. “But short-haul bookings are a simpler purchase better suited to the Internet.”

As part of a plan to drive on-line sales and combat market gains by low-cost competition, BA is also overhauling its pricing structure to offer cheaper fares and a less complex range of price options. Although the airline insists its in-flight service will continue to differentiate it from low-cost carriers, it will copy the competition from June by offering its cheapest domestic and European fares on-line.

Agents are being encouraged to supplement their profits by charging service fees, but Basingstoke-based Toucan Travel director David Wood said that would leave smaller retailers unable to cope. “BA’s costs are too high but who’s fault is that?” he said. “I’m absolutely certain this will put some agents out of business.” 

But BA insists agents must face up to commercial reality. “The role of the agent is changing,” Hall said. “Agents are important to us and the majority of our sales will continue to come through the trade, but we need to be customer focused.”